First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the claims against Alex Salmond were 'upsetting' for her party

Speaking for the first time about the claims today, the Scots boss admitted that her close ally and mentor had told her about the claims and that the situation was "difficult for me to come to terms with".

She said she was "acutely aware how upsetting this will be" for the SNP but insisted the complaints must not be "swept under the carpet".

Ms Sturgeon, who took over from Mr Salmond in 2014, said today: "These complaints have been considered since then under a procedure covering ministers and former ministers that was agreed by me in December 2017 in the wake of public concern about harassment.

"Although I have been aware for some time of the fact of the investigation - initially from Alex Salmond - I have had no role in the process, and to have referred to it before now would have compromised the integrity of the internal investigation, which I was not prepared to do."

Nicola Sturgeon said today the allegations were difficult for her to come to terms with

"I am also acutely aware how upsetting this will be for my party. However, the over-riding priority must be to ensure fair and due process."

Mr Salmond was leader of the SNP twice - and led Scotland as First Minister from 2007 to 2014.

He quit after losing the independence referendum, when Scotland opted to stay inside the UK.

The Scottish Sun understands explosive allegations about the ex First Minister’s conduct towards women during his time in office have been passed to Police Scotland.

Police Scotland said it was "not going to comment on whether an inquiry is ongoing".

Alex Salmond says he's not been allowed to see the evidence of sex allegations against him

Last night Mr Salmond said in a statement that he was planning to take the Scottish Government to court over the case - criticising the way they had handled it.

He refuted all of the claims against him, describing some of them as "patently ridiculous".

Mr Salmond, who previously served as the MP for Gordon before being booted out in 2017, said: "Even now I have not been allowed to see and therefore to properly challenge the case against me.

"I have not been allowed to see the evidence. I have tried everything, including offers of conciliation, mediation and legal arbitration to resolve these matters both properly and amicably.

"This would have been in everybody's interests, particularly those of the two complainants. All of these efforts have been rejected."

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.